How Manchester’s Top 3 Marketing Agencies Are Turning Google Reviews into New Business

Manchester’s agency scene is crowded. Everyone’s “full service”, everyone’s “award-winning”, everyone’s got a decent looking site.

So why do a handful of shops, in this case MadeByShape, Pixel Kicks and Embryo, manage to rack up visible Google reviews while other perfectly good agencies sit there on 6 reviews from 2019?

We looked through public review/testimonial content for sentiment drivers and the pattern was weirdly consistent, people weren’t raving about fancy frameworks or obscure Martech stacks. They were raving about… how nice and switched-on the teams were.

Below is the breakdown, in the same no-fuss style we use when we pull apart local businesses: what people are actually saying, why it works, and how to copy it without sounding like a bot.

The 3 review drivers that keep coming up

1. “They were just really easy to work with.”

This is the line that shows up the most across all three.

From MadeByShape:

“They were extremely responsive and a pleasure to work with.”“So friendly, personable, and nothing was too much for them.”

From Pixel Kicks:

“Very professional, responsive and helpful.”“Always on hand to deal with any queries…”

From Embryo:

“They are always helpful and concise with their advice.”“Great communication and they actually listen to what our needs are.”

What’s going on here?

• Clients are using their review slot to praise the experience, not just the output.

• “Responsive”, “nothing was too much”, “on hand” – these are support words, not design words.

• That tells us reviews are being triggered during the engagement (when the client feels looked after), not three months later when the strategy has had time to mature.

How to replicate it:

1. Bake “responsiveness moments” into delivery (48hr turnaround on content tweaks, weekly call).

2. Ask for the review right after one of those moments.

3. In your review prompt, steer them gently:

   “If you’re happy, a quick Google review about how we communicated / responded would be amazing, that’s what people look for most.”

You’ll get more reviews, and they’ll all hit the same theme.

2. “They know what they’re doing.”

The second most common driver is competence. Not “we liked the colours”, but “these people are very good at their jobs.”

From MadeByShape:

“Exceptional at what they do.”“The standard of work is outstanding.”

From Pixel Kicks:

“Great creative minds underpinned by technical know-how…”“The timescales were tight and the result was first-class.”

From Embryo:

“Loads of innovative and creative ideas and measurable results from the off.”“Every member of the team… comes with such a wealth of knowledge.”

This is gold, because “competence” reviews convert future leads way more than “nice office” reviews.

What they’re doing right:

• Showing clients the thinking, not just the artifact. When a client understands the why, they’re much more likely to write “expert”, “knowledgeable”, “innovative”.

• Delivering tidy assets (sites, campaigns, content) so there’s something to show off in the review.

• Hitting deadlines, a surprising number of “they know what they’re doing” reviews also mention “on time”.

  
  

How to replicate it:

1. Name the strategy in your updates. Instead of “Here’s the new SEO content”, say “We’re moving to an intent-led cluster strategy for Q1 – here’s the first 3 pieces.”

   You’ve just given them the language for the review.

   
   

2. Make it easy for them to brag. Send a “before/after” screen or “old vs. new site” pic in the wrap-up email – clients love dropping that in a review.

   
   

3. Prompt for the expertise angle.

   “If the strategy has been clear and you’ve felt in safe hands, a line about that in a Google review really helps people pick us.”

3. “They went above and beyond.”

This one shows up just behind #1 and #2, but it’s powerful because it reduces risk for future buyers.

From MadeByShape:

“They went above and beyond to ensure what we got was something we were happy with.”“…delivered exactly what we wanted and more!”

From Pixel Kicks:

“Nothing was too difficult or too much trouble.”“Brilliant from the outset… final result we’re extremely proud of.”

From Embryo:

“The team continuously go above and beyond in supporting our group websites…”“They can take on new projects swiftly and with confidence.”And the performance-flavoured one: “Allowed me to scale my business through PPC & Paid Social.”

What’s happening here: Clients are rewarding flexibility. Something changed (scope, timeline, internal pressure) and the agency didn’t make it a drama. That single experience creates a 5★-tone review.

How to replicate it:

• Log your “extras”. If you fix something that wasn’t in scope (“we spotted an indexing issue so we sorted it”), mention it in the update.

• Then ask for the review right away.

  “We’ve pushed this through past the original scope. If that kind of support has been useful, a quick Google review would be hugely appreciated.”

• The client will echo your wording: “went above and beyond”, “nothing was too much”, “supportive”.

Why these 3 drivers matter more than the channel stuff

You’d expect agency reviews to be “we got more leads”, “CPC down 40%”, “ranked #1 for X”. You do see that, but those reviews don’t dominate.

What dominates is response, expertise, extra effort. This is brilliant news, because those 3 things are:

1. Repeatable – you can create 10 more “responsive” moments this month.

2. Trainable – any team member can learn to communicate like that.

3. Reviewable – clients can describe it in one sentence.

So what would an “Empowered” review playbook for agencies look like?

1. Map your review triggers

   • design sign-off

   • campaign first results

   • site launches

   • “we rescued something” moments

2. Send a pre-framed ask (email/WhatsApp/Slack)

   “If working with the team has been easy and you’ve felt in good hands, would you mind dropping us a Google review? That’s exactly what people look for when they’re shopping around.”

3. Rotate the angle

   • Week 1 → service/comms

   • Week 2 → expertise/quality

   • Week 3 → above-and-beyond, That way your Google profile doesn’t end up 15x “great team!” with no substance.

     
     

4. Repurpose the best lines: Put “extremely responsive”, “standard of work is outstanding”, “helped us scale through PPC & Paid Social” straight onto your landing pages (with permission). Those are native, Manchester-sounding quotes – not stock.

   
   

Final thought

The reason MadeByShape, Pixel Kicks and Embryo can keep getting reviews is that they’ve made the experience reviewable.

They don’t just do good work, they make the good work obvious, human and easy to talk about.

If you’re an agency in Manchester (or anywhere, really) sitting on 3–8 Google reviews, don’t overcomplicate it. Start engineering those three moments:

1. Be outrageously easy to work with.

2. Show your working, make the expertise visible.

3. Do one thing a month that’s clearly “beyond scope”.

Ask for a review right after each of those.

That’s it. That’s the play.